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Feb. 28th/March 1st, 2014 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI!

ATTENTION! G+, for some reason, only recorded our first 30 minutes. Oh well. We are all together nontheless. The talk was on seeing through life's disasatisfactions, so the fact that the talk is gone is the perfect Teaching! I SUGGEST FOLKS PICK AN "OLDIE BUT TIMELESS GOLDIE" MONTHLY ZAZENKAI FROM SOMETIME IN THE PASTLESS PAST, JUST SIT WITH THAT!

Please 'sit-a-long' with our MONTHLY4-hourZAZENKAI, netcast LIVE8am to noon Japan time Saturday morning (that is New York 6pm to 10pm, Los Angeles 3pm to 7pm (Friday night), London 11pm to 3am and Paris midnight to 4am (early Saturday morning)) ...

... to be visible at the following link during those times andany time thereafter ...

LIVE ZAZENKAI NETCAST at GOOGLE+ IS HERE:CLICK ON THE TAB ON LOWER RIGHT FOR 'FULL SCREEN

NO RECORDING THIS MONTH!

FOR THOSE NOT ALREADY MEMBERS OF THE CIRCLE WHO WISH TO JOIN TO SIT LIVE WITH A CAMERA, INSTRUCTIONS are posted AT THIS LINK. WE ARE NOW LIMITED TO 10 INDIVIDUALS WITH CAMERAS, BUT ANY NUMBER CAN WATCH LIVE 'ONE WAY' AND SIT-A-LONG VIA THE ABOVE SCREEN. IF JOINING WITH CAMERA, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR MICROPHONE IS MUTED:

Our Zazenkai consists of our chanting the 'Heart Sutra' and the 'Identity of Relative and Absolute (Sandokai)' in English (please download our Chant Book at the link below), some full floor prostrations (please follow along with me ... or a simple Gassho can be substituted if you wish), a little talk by me ... and we close with the 'Metta Chant', followed at the end with the 'Verse of Atonement' and 'The Four Vows'. Oh, and lots and lots of Zazen and walkin' Kinhin in between!

Please download and print out the Chants we will recite at the following link (PDF):

I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU POSITION YOUR ZAFU ON THE FLOOR IN A PLACE WHERE YOU ARE NOT STARING DIRECTLY AT THE COMPUTER SCREEN, BUT CAN GLANCE OVER AND SEE THE SCREEN WHEN NECESSARY. YOUR ZAFU SHOULD ALSO BE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE COMPUTER SCREEN WHILE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE ZAFU FOR THE CEREMONIES, AND HAVE ROOM FOR BOWING AND KINHIN.

ALSO, REMEMBER TO SET YOUR COMPUTER (& SCREEN SAVER) SO THAT IT DOES NOT SHUT OFF DURING THE 4 HOURS.

I hope you will join us ... an open Zafu is waiting. When we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' 'then' ... we are sitting all together!

ATTENTION! G+, for some reason, only recorded our first 30 minutes. Oh well. We are all together nontheless. The talk was on seeing through life's disasatisfactions, so the fact that the talk is gone is the perfect Teaching! I SUGGEST FOLKS PICK AN "OLDIE BUT TIMELESS GOLDIE" MONTHLY ZAZENKAI FROM SOMETIME IN THE PASTLESS PAST, JUST SIT WITH THAT!

Interesting. I guess around that time (30 minutes in) the hangout must stopped working for me too, but I didn't realize it because everyone was still visible on my screen.

There was Jundo, and Shingen, and Dosho all sitting. You were not moving, but hey, you were sitting Zazen. My legs and back got more and more sore, but such is our practice. At some point it was obvious to my body that this was the longest I had ever sat without doing Kinhin. But there was Jundo, and Shingen, and Dosho, still sitting. And if you all could keep sitting that long, than so could I. This went on for a while longer until I could not take it any more. I pulled up the clock on my computer and it was well over an hour into Zazen. I figured at that point that something must be broken, so I disconnected and reconnected. Sure enough, some folks were gone, but Joyo and Kyonin had joined. And you were all still sitting -- I missed first Kinhin!

Thank you all for your practice, and thank you Google+ for showing me a new side to Zazen!

Interesting. I guess around that time (30 minutes in) the hangout must stopped working for me too, but I didn't realize it because everyone was still visible on my screen.

There was Jundo, and Shingen, and Dosho all sitting. You were not moving, but hey, you were sitting Zazen. My legs and back got more and more sore, but such is our practice. At some point it was obvious to my body that this was the longest I had ever sat without doing Kinhin. But there was Jundo, and Shingen, and Dosho, still sitting. And if you all could keep sitting that long, than so could I. This went on for a while longer until I could not take it any more. I pulled up the clock on my computer and it was well over an hour into Zazen. I figured at that point that something must be broken, so I disconnected and reconnected. Sure enough, some folks were gone, but Joyo and Kyonin had joined. And you were all still sitting -- I missed first Kinhin!

Thank you all for your practice, and thank you Google+ for showing me a new side to Zazen!

Sshhh, don't tell anyone ... but those were cardboard cutouts - we ducked out for ice cream. =)

Huh. Normally I think I'd be jealous about not being included in this yummy outing, but I'm betting that now that your oryoki stuff is all sticky and yucky with ice cream and chocolate sauce -- it wasn't really worth it.

Agreed. All silly aside, it was a wonderful Zazenkai, and the talk was very timely for me. I don't think I expressed myself particularly well with my question tonight, but lately practice has felt more "unified" for me, Zazen, Metta, bowing, the meal chant, oryoki -- the physical acts themselves help us manifest a kind of wisdom in action. They help us enact the Buddha way, and to unify our minds and bodies and all beings. In one sense, perhaps part of the path to realizing emptiness / fullness / Shunyata and practice "thinking non-thinking" is to also to do non-doing (Shikantaza), bow to all sentient beings, and to wash our bowls.

Well that was interesting! Saturday is pretty full for me so got up early to sit straight through and there I was sitting away and no bell to end the first sitting!!!! Thinking the fault my end I tried then to find the video on G+ but no avail. I then came here and found Jundo's post, so just carried on sitting. But I guess the zazenkai did continue but wasn't recorded is that right? If so, Jundo, is there anyway of getting hold of your talk on the Book of Serenity as I would be interested in hearing it.

Whatever, I thank you all for your practice it is always inspiring to see you guys sitting for the four hours. Deep Bows to all who sit around the world.

Hello everyone, well I only participated in 2 hrs of zazenkai, but it was wonderful!! Jundo, your talk may have felt like a stuck record to you, but not to me. It was so good. In fact, after I put my kids to bed, just felt so relaxed after all that sitting, kinhin, and dharma talk, I slept for about 9 hrs last night lol!! Thank you everyone, so nice to practice this together